January 30, 2017

CHRIS BONNOR & BERNIE SHEPHERD. The vanishing private school

Just when we are getting used to the idea of having a mix of public and private schools in Australia along comes a development with the potential to upset everything once again. Over the years our federal and state governments, apparently without comparing notes, have raised private school funding to the point where those schools can no longer be considered to be private.

June 10, 2014

Mary Chiarella. Nurses - debt and job satisfaction.

In the AFR Laura Tingle rightly points out that nurses do not tend to fit the mould as one of those groups of fortunate students who may reap significant income returns for the cost of their university education. She goes on to point out that modelling released by Universities Australia this week suggest nurses uni debts will rise from $19,398 to as much as $37,390 under the budget proposals. This is for a job paying a starting income of $48,729. She calculates that a nursing graduate who works 6 years full time on graduation, followed by six years part-time before returning to full time work, would have a debt of $66, 195 that would take 22 years to repay.

November 17, 2016

DAVID PEETZ. An industrial relations furphy.

The media excitement surrounding the theatrics of former Senator Bob Day and current Senator Rod Culleton seemed to obscure the real issues facing the federal governments industrial relations legislation.

The government failed to put bills re-establishing the Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC), and a new, government-appointed Registered Organisations Commission, onto the notice paper for discussion in the Senate when it was expected to. Most in the media took this to mean that Day and eccentric One Nation Senator Culleton are critical to passage of the bills.

March 6, 2019

MAX COSTELLO. The real reason Christmas Island is being reopened.

Although Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Attorney-General Christian Porter have said why Christmas Islands immigration detention centre will be reopened, the PMs words were uninformative, and A-G Porters explanation was untrue.

September 16, 2019

Chris Mills: When the Wind Blows, Water Flows

This is the paradox: as towns run out of potable water, our livestock and crops die, and water to fight infernos dries up, how can a Nation girt by sea use unlimited volumes of sea water to slake a parched land? Wind and solar generated electricity costs have continued to decline, facilitating economic desalination of sea water and operation of water-pumping as an essential component of Australias response to the deleterious effects of climate change and climbing temperatures.

October 1, 2015

Michael Keating. Austerity, the Greek Economy and Grexit

Faced with an unenviable choice between more austerity and a Grexit from the Euro the Greek Government after six months of resistance caved in and reluctantly opted for more austerity. Two weeks ago in the recent elections the Greek people endorsed that choice, although the record low voter turn-out suggests with little enthusiasm and much political weariness. On the other hand, the Euro-zone authorities are no doubt breathing a sigh of relief. But what can Greece (and its creditors) expect from this deal.

February 16, 2024

With Rafah under siege, ICJ reiterates Israeli obligations under Genocide Convention

A South African leader welcomed the court’s affirmation that “the perilous situation demands immediate and effective implementation of the provisional measures” from its earlier ruling.

June 14, 2017

MICHAEL KEATING. An appreciation of Ian Marsh.

Ian Marsh who passed away last week, was a highly original thinker with the genuine curiosity of a true intellectual.

Ian liked to describe himself as one of the last Deakinite Liberals. This apt description reflected:

Ians contributions to industrial policy, and especially how the state can help foster innovation, and
Ians preference for a more consensual negotiated approach to policy making, such as applied during the first decade of the Australian parliament.

October 14, 2016

PETER DAY. Is western civilisation bored?

Religion. The mob. Capitalism. Fundamentalism. Bad parenting. Racism. Materialism. Youth unemployment. Poverty. Thugs. Multiculturalism. Rich vs poor

Take your pick; even add to the list, as we collectively grapple to decipher the root causes of the violence and the mental illness that pervades our world be it terrorism, random shootings, war, suicide.

Mans inhumanity to man shakes us to the core. We start to question what it means to be human. We apportion blame. We want answers. Gosh, we ask, what just happened?

March 20, 2013

The Medicine Lobby. Vested interests win again. John Menadue

Professor Stephen Duckett of the Grattan Institute has just reported that Australians are paying too much for prescription drugs. The cost of this overpayment is at least $1.3 p.a.

This is another example of the power of vested interests in the health sector and their ability to extract economic rents from the community. The other privileged players in the health sector include doctors, particularly specialists, and the private health insurance industry that extracts a $3.5 billion annual subsidy from the taxpayer.

February 16, 2015

Kim Oates. The Forgotten Children

I have just read the report of the Australian Human Rights Commission on Children in Detention The Forgotten Children.

It is clear, factual and unemotional. It is supported by evidence and is non-partisan. It is not on the side of any political party. It is on the side of children.

It made me ashamed about what is being done to these children. It made me sad that our nation can be so cruel. It made me angry about the way the two main political parties responded on the release of the report. The Labour Party was largely silent, although much of what is documented in the report occurred on their watch. The Liberal/National party was belligerent, ignoring the seriousness of the message, blaming others while simultaneously congratulating themselves and trying to shoot the highly respected messenger, Professor Gillian Triggs.

October 27, 2016

ARTHUR CHESTERFIELD-EVANS. Compulsory Third Party insurance in NSW- a Bad System about to Get Worse?

CTP, Compulsory Third Party insurance (Green Slips) in NSW are looking increasingly like a scam. In theory, if you are injured in a motor vehicle accident that is not your fault, all reasonable and necessary treatment is currently paid for by your insurer. People might assume this means good, standard medical practice. This is not so.

In principle, patients are entitled to immediate and early treatment but the first problem is that insurers have up to 3 months to decide if they are liable for the accident. Payment can be delayed until the liability is accepted. Sometimes when two cars collide both insurers decide that the other is liable, and neither will pay. This is quite common.

September 8, 2019

PEPE ESCOBAR. Welcome to the Indo-Russia maritime Silk Road (Asia Times, 5 Sep 2019)

Theres no way to follow the complex inner workings of the Eurasia integration process without considering what takes place annually at theEastern Economic Forumin Vladivostok.

June 12, 2017

MUNGO MacCALLUM. The Finkel Report and Malcolm Turnbull - compromising at the expense of the planet.

It has little if anything to do with the real issues around climate change: it is all about satisfying Tony Abbott, Barnaby Joyce, George Christensen and Eric Abetz.

March 7, 2017

CAVAN HOGUE. Why do we hate President Assad of Syria?

The US opposes Assad because he is not their son of a bitch and so supports a motley bag of groups with little in common who are probably no better than Assad. The elimination of ISIS is certainly desirable but it will not solve the mess that is the Middle East. Australia trots along behind the US because of the insurance policy argument.

December 30, 2016

HAL SWERISSEN and STEPHEN DUCKETT. Is a tax on sugary drinks bonkers?

The evidence is that currently there are significant harms and costs associated with the consumption of sugary drinks, both to those who are obese and the community more generally.

October 11, 2016

KIERAN TAPSELL. The Royal Commission and Religious Liberty

Three law professors, Michael Quinlan and Keith Thompson (Notre Dame) and Frank Brennan (ACU) have criticized any attempt by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse to discuss the doctrines and canon law of the Catholic Church on the grounds that such a discussion would breach religious liberty and the separation of church and state.

May 18, 2017

The White Mans Media Part I

Ramesh Thakur highlights how a biased coverage of the war on terror and the Iraq War by the US media eroded US soft power.

March 8, 2018

How and why New Zealand withdrew or was forced from ANZUS in 1985.

In Foreign Policy Analysis in 2010, Amy L. Catalinac reviewed the events that led to New Zealand withdrawal from ANZUS and the reasons for it. She said:

In 1985, a dispute over nuclear ship visits led the United States to formally suspend its security guarantee to New Zealand under the trilateral ANZUS Treaty. In this article, I conceptualize this dispute as a case of intra-alliance opposition by a small state toward its stronger ally. I generate four hypotheses from the literature on alliances in international relations to explain why New Zealand chose to oppose its ally on the nuclear ships issue. Using new evidence, including interviews with 22 individuals involved in the dispute and content analysis of debates in the New Zealand parliament from 1976 to 1984, I conclude that a desire for greater autonomy in foreign policy was the driving factor behind New Zealands opposition.

December 31, 2015

John Menadue. What has the government done for us?

Repost from 25/02/2015

Many will recall in the Monty Python film, the Life of Brian, an anti-Roman revolutionary played by John Cleese, but who reminds me of Joe Hockey, asks rhetorically about the Romans, What have they ever given us? Expecting the answer Nothing, he is irritated when he is told that they provided aqueducts. Cleeses character slowly concedes further points, until he asks Apart from the sanitation, medicine, education, wine, public order, irrigation, roads, fresh water system and public health what have the Romans ever done for us? And still someone chips in with another suggestion of what the Romans have done.

May 28, 2014

Michiya Matsuoka. Japanese collective atmosphere and the power of the media.

In John Menadues blog of 31 March, 2014, he expressed strong concern for recent events concerning Japans Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, and warned that Japan was fast approaching a nationalistic agenda and revisionist view of history. (See re-post today)

I have these same misgivings about Japan and fully agree with John Menadues concern, including the role and responsibility of NHK (the Japanese public broadcaster similar to the Australian ABC and British BBC).

April 29, 2018

MUNGO MacCALLUM. Government by the bankers, for the bankers, and, in Turnbull's case, of the bankers.

As Malcolm Turnbull returns, no doubt reluctantly, from the photo-ops of Europe to the harsh world of Australian politics, he is inevitably turning his mind to the oncoming conflict and the need to vaporize Bill Shorten.

September 4, 2018

PETER WHITEFORD. Dont believe what they say about inequality. Some of us are worse off (The Conversation)

If you were going to reduce a 150-page Productivity Commission examination of trends in Australian inequality to a few words, it would be nice if they werent ALP inequality claims sunk, or Progressive article of faith blown up or Labor inequality myths busted by commission.

October 17, 2016

FRANK BRENNAN SJ. Malcolm Turnbull's defence of Nauru.

This is Frank Brennan’s most recent post of Facebook.

When interviewed by Fran Kelly this morning, Malcolm Turnbull suggested it was a simple binary choice: strong border protection including the cruel, endless warehousing of proven refugees (including children) on places like Nauru OR deaths at sea. Its not a simple binary choice, and he knows it is not. If the governments priority were safety at sea they would be transparent with us in how they intercept boats and send the people back to Indonesia, being so concerned about the safety of those very people on the boats. But thats not their main priority. Their main priority and their main concern is stopping people coming to Indonesia and then leaving Indonesia heading to Australia seeking asylum.

February 14, 2017

PETER PHIBBS and NICOLE GURRAN. Why housing supply shouldn't be the only policy tool politicians cling to.

If politicians were serious about the affordability crisis, they would be trying to support the important but underfunded affordable housing sector. Better targeting tax breaks towards new and affordable rental housing, rather than fuelling demand for existing homes, would also help. But until our politicians can see past supply slogans we can expect very little policy change.

February 27, 2017

TIM LINDSEY. Jokowi Lite: The Indonesian presidents non-visit

The relationship between our two countries is now back on a more normal diplomatic footing for the moment but we need to do better than that if we are to make the most of our proximity to this gigantic nation of 270 million that considers itself now rising.

February 4, 2015

John Dwyer. Commentary on John Menadues blogs on the barriers to health policy reform in Australia. (Part 1)

As I suspected would be the case with many readers who enjoy Pearls and Irritations, I experienced in equal measure, satisfaction and frustration as I absorbed John Menadues informed and insightful analysis of the problems that beset our health system and prevent urgently needed structural reforms. His three essays accurately explore the major issues. He has experienced political power and politicians motivations from the inside. Fortunately, his passion for good government has, for two decades or more, been particularly interested in improving our health system. Here too, importantly, he has had first hand experience of how the system works (and doesnt work). His recent survey provides us with a very valuable document, as it is, in fact, a template on which we must build a reform agenda.

May 29, 2017

ALISON BROINOWSKI. The Merkel moment: wherever that works.

If NATO cannot rely on a Trump administration, should Australian leaders not see this as an opportunity to face the facts?

April 23, 2016

Cavan Hogue. Saudi Arabia involvement in 9/11 attack!

The United States has long supported one of the most repressive regimes in the world. It invaded Iraq where women were able to do anything men could (which wasn’t much admittedly) but not Saudi Arabia where women are kept in subjection. It also ignored the fact that Saudi Arabia is home of the Wahabi brand of puritanical Islam that is the ideological inspiration for the Taliban and other extremist groups. Australia has trotted faithfully behind.

November 13, 2024

A five-minute scroll

British surgeon Nizam Mamode describes how Israel’s quadcopters target children and Norwegian physician, Dr. Mads Gilbert speaks out on 400 days of genocide. Israel, meanwhile, has passed laws allowing children under under the age of 14 to be jailed. Sarah Schwartz of the Jewish Council of Australia speaks out on the false reporting of weekend events in Amsterdam and we are reminded of the time Marco Rubio denounced Trump. At home, support for ATO whistleblower Richard Boyle and the realisation that b-2 bombers refueling in Australia en route to bomb Yemen puts Australia yet again in someone else’s war without debate.

August 29, 2013

The phoney war over deficits and debt. John Menadue

For almost five years, Tony Abbott, Joe Hockey, Andrew Robb and Barnaby Joyce, have been giving us dire warnings about deficits and debt. You would think the Australian economy was a smoking ruin.

But the politicking over deficits and debt has changed remarkably in the last few weeks. Early this year Tony Abbott told us that he would provide a budget surplus in year 1 of an Abbott Government. Earlier this month, he said that his government would return the budget to surplus within his first three year term. Then he said that he would return the budget to surplus some time over the next four years.

February 23, 2017

GREGORY CLARK. Amazing1964Hasluckrequest toMoscowforhelp overVietnam

In 1964,I was witness to another independentCanberra initiative overVietnam. It was a bizarre attempt by thenExternal Affairs minister,Paul Hasluck, to persuade Moscow to joinwith the West in Vietnam tostop alleged Chinese aggression.

July 29, 2015

Jon Stanford. Climate Change Policy: a wedging opportunity for the ALP?

For those who believe that Australian elections should be based on a contest of ideas about public policy, developments at the national conference of the ALP in July 2015 will provide some basis for optimism. In contrast to some previous Opposition leaders who have been content to maintain a small target strategy, Bill Shorten is starting to make himself quite a large target in policy areas such as the republic, gender equality and climate change.

October 19, 2017

MICHAEL LAMBERT. The National Energy Guarantee - what do we make of it?

After a progression of schemes, such as the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), The Carbon Pollution Tax (CPT), Direct Action, including the Renewable Energy Target (RET) as well as dabbling with the Emissions Intensity Scheme (EIS) and the Clean Energy Target (CET) we have now being presented by those proud parents, Malcolm Turnbull and Josh Frydenberg, with the latest addition to the energy policy family, the NEG, the National Energy Guarantee. Will it work and how; is it better or worse than its alternatives; and what are the key issues to address if it proceeds?

December 12, 2016

ANDREW FARRAN. New series. We can say 'no' to the Americans.

We should have a very clear and unromantic view of what we conceive to be the ’national interest’.

May 18, 2017

The White Mans media Part 2

In the second part, Ramesh Thakur extends his analysis of bias in the Western media to their coverage of Iran, Russia, Ukraine and India.

January 23, 2017

AHMAD RIZKY M. UMAR. ASEAN countries should find a solution to end the persecution of Rohingya.

ASEANs non-intervention is aggravating the plight of ethnic Rohingya Muslims suffering widespread abuse by the Burmese military in Myanmars Rakhine State. The Rohingya are one of the worlds most persecuted ethnic minorities.

April 23, 2017

JAMES O'NEILL. Just Who Does Pose the Greater Threat in Korea?

The election of Donald Trump as US President has seen the ramping up of US rhetoric about North Korea. Trump recently demanded that China should use its influence with the North Koreans and if China did not intervene, then, according to an interview Trump gave to the UK Financial Times, the US would act alone.

June 19, 2018

LOWY SURVEY-Donald Trump a 'critical threat' to Australia's interests as trust in US hits record low.

Australians’ trust in the United States as a world leader has dropped to a record low as two out of five people consider President Donald Trump a “critical threat” to Australia’s interests, according to the latest Lowy Institute poll. 43 percent of those surveyed thought that Chinese President Xi Jinping would act responsibly compared with only 30 percent for President Trump.

May 31, 2017

MICHAEL McKINLEY. Due diligence in the time of chaos and on the way to hell.

At the present time when analysts, commentators and relevant government agencies are emphasising the dangerous trajectories of world politics, Australian defence is jeopardised undermined by profound strategic mismanagement and a lack of capability; worse, military Keynesianism is obvious and rampant. Capping it off, the recommendations of a government funded think tank to address this, are based on cherry-picked intelligence reports and consist in no more than resorting to a failed conventional wisdom, and stealth nuclearism.

May 10, 2020

ABUL RIZVI: Australias struggles with skilled temporary migration

Kristina Keneally argues that when we come out of the current crisis we should aim for a lower level of temporary migration to make sure Australians get a fair go and a first go at jobs. Scott Morrison says cutting skilled temporary migration would hurt the economy. Who should we believe?

February 28, 2017

PAT POWER. The Royal Commission and the need for reform.

Despite all the warnings, I dont know of anyone who has not been shocked by what has emerged from the Royal Commission. For twenty years or more, we have heard accounts of abuse, sometimes very close to home. But somehow the magnitude of it all has been almost beyond comprehension.

April 6, 2016

Ian Marsh. Whats wrong with Australian politics? Part 3.

Heres a puzzle. Over the past decade or so Australian politics has veered from one crisis to another. In that same period New Zealand has enjoyed effective and constructive government. Whats the difference? Lets start with the different records.

First Australia. Here is a rough summary. Five prime ministers in five dysfunctional years. Internecine party warfare. Gridlocked policy. Chronic leadership and factional rivalries. Intractable internal ideological conflicts. These factors in various combinations have stymied both Coalition and Labor governments.

February 11, 2015

Walter Hamilton. Ships and Boats and Please Explains

If the main aim of building ships in Australia for the Royal Australian Navy were to keep locals in work, then the South Australian-based Australian Submarine Corporation (ASC) would be a pretty good model. It spent around $400 million on salaries last year, about half its budget. If the aim, however, is to build on time, on budget, and to obtain value for money for Australian taxpayers, ASC would be a terrible model.

April 20, 2017

QUENTIN DEMPSTER. With talk of war, what should Australia do?

As the United States Trump administration now confronts North Korea, there is talk of war.Also confronted, but more indirectly, is China itself with President Donald Trumps declaration that the US would go it alone to disarm North Korea if China and President Xi Jinping did not help in that objective.

January 30, 2013

Federal Election bits and pieces

There was nothing new in the timing of the next election announced by Julia Gillard. There wasn’t much doubt that it would be some time in August or September. There may be a marginal benefit for the government in the early announcement. It has some major policy issues to outline - Gonski reforms, national disability and how they are to be funded. Having the resources of the bureaucracy in outlining these issues will be a considerable advantage. Furthermore, oppositions have been inclined to make themselves small targets and hide policy until late in the day. That will now be much harder for the Coalition.

October 25, 2016

SPENCER ZIFCAK. Critique of Government's attacks on civil society.

UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders Scathing Critique of Governments Attacks on Civil Society

In 1998, after 14 years of haggling, the UN General Assembly finally adopted the landmark UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders. After another 10 years of thinking about it, the Australian government agreed to sign on to the Declaration.

The Declarations purpose is to promote the work of individuals and civil society organisations which act to protect peoples fundamental human rights and to ensure that in doing so, they themselves do not become the subject of human rights violations.

In signing on, the Australian government agreed to issue a standing invitation to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders, an independent expert appointed pursuant to the Declaration, to visit Australia. The Rapporteurs role would be to evaluate the Commonwealth and State governments record in meeting the standards of protection the Declaration sets down.

January 10, 2017

CHRIS SIDOTI. 30th Anniversary of the Australian Human Rights Commission. Part 1 of 2.

Chris Sidoti recounts the context for the establishing of the AHRC, (formerly called the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission) and records the frequent conflicts over the years between the AHRC and the government of the day.

This is an edited first half of the speech. The second half will appear in the next P&I.

March 2, 2017

RAMESH THAKUR. The Trump effect and Japan

Japan has an exceptional opportunity, while maneuvering to remain close to Washington, to reduce its unhealthy security and economic dependency on the United States, and to educate the U.S. administration on the merits and benefits of the key planks of a rules-based global order and international cooperation.

Pearls and Irritations

John Menadue's Public Policy Journal